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An Outside The Box Look At Section 1 Ladies Hoops Contenders
by Ray Gallagher
 | | Haldane freshman Liz Milner has come on strong for the state-ranked (No.9) Blue Devils (5-0), scoring 16 and 13 points in a pair of Haldane wins last week. |
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Okay, so the NYSSA scholastic basketball polls came out this past week and this should come as no surprise: Haldane High is the top ranked Class C team from Section 1, falling in at No. 9.
Coach Kenny Haskins' Blue Devils (5-0) have yet to lose a game, including Monday's test against 2007 Class C Final 4 team Dobbs Ferry, which went down at the hands of the visiting Blue Devils, 53-35. With interest in girls basketball running rampant in the PCN&R-area, here's a look at some of the potential contenders you might see down at the Westchester County Center in early March, should Haldane be so blessed to join them. These are their stories, outside the box.
Section 1 CLASS AA Hoops Polls
No. 1 Mount Vernon - Good to see the leading ladies of state-ranked (No. 8) Mt. Vernon & Peekskill could come together on a play date (12/21)… Lord knows the men can't. And that's a crying shame. Can you imagine the display of excellence on an annual basis; if even in the 2008 Slam Dunk tourney next December at the County Center on a chance meeting? It'd be a nice first step toward a potential play date should Slam Dunk organizers stave off an attack from Section 1 next year, which the Westchester Elite Hardwood Classic couldn't.
No. 2 Ursuline - The web site says: "While a Catholic school, Ursuline welcomes students of all religions, and about 20 percent of students are non-catholic": Which only means the state-ranked (No. 20) Koalas have a 20% better chance of getting players throughout the Westchester/North Bronx-region. That gives geographically-advantaged Koalas about a 20% better chance at being as dominant as they were from 2000 to 2003 when they owned Section 1; prior to Ossining stopping the run in 2004.
No. 3 Greeley - There was a time when I couldn't root for Greeley; I'll admit it. I reckon I've mellowed some over the years. The Chappaqua-based Quakers are dang good at 5-0, but I still don't want Ms. Hilary anywhere near the White House wine cellar.
CLASS A
No. 1 Pearl River - The state-ranked (No. 2) Pirates gave reining state champion Lakeland its best game last year and they return a lot from an 18-5 team.
No. 2 Beacon - Blew out Lakeland already, which is a shell of itself after losing the best five they ever had. Not ready to anoint Bulldogs just yet but state pollsters should be alerted because they return everyone from a 17-5 team.
No. 3 Peekskill - Class A is down, and this is just a stab based on a Red Devils (4-1) win over Brewster and not much else to choose from.
CLASS B
No. 1 Briarcliff - I'd be shocked a little shocked if the state-ranked (No. 3) Bears aren't facing Magnus in the sectional finals.
No. 2 Magnus - Recently lost to Section 9's Burke Catholic, another Catholic school dominating the NYS Public High School playoffs. When do these two get bumped to Class A?
No. 3 Irvington - Man, there was a time in the mid-to-late '80s when nobody could touch the Bulldogs, who put a 61-34 hurt on my Valley Monday night. The folks in Putnam Valley were reminded of yesteryear, when we couldn't touch Irvington; even with the likes of the great Patti Daly, Nicole Barrett, Andrea Carney, Heidi Kocher and Donna Priano on the floor with them. Those five PV gals could have contended for a Class C/D sectional championship in the wee '90s if PV High existed when it was supposed to. We got a little something in store for them down the road, though; in the form of a JV team with four 8th graders who start for a 4-0 unit. For now, Irvington (6-1) could be County Center-bound in March, and the Tigers (1-4) have an eye on a potentially bright future.
CLASS C
No. 1 Haldane - The good guys! Ranked No. 9 in NYS, Haskins' former 14-time defending champion Blue Devils (5-0) are just starting to scratch the surface as they go about the business of reclaiming "their" championship. After dropping 18 Monday night, All-NYS forward Brittany Shields is just 247 points shy of the school's all-time scoring mark (1,776, Jen Moran) and her surrounding cast is coming of age after 53-35 win over Dobbs Ferry. 5'10" Frosh Liz Milner followed up her career-high 16 points against Valhalla with 13 more against Dobbs. Kid could be the next Shields-in-waiting (emphasis on could). Long way to go, too, but she'll be nice to build around nonetheless.
No. 2 Blind Brook - Reining Class C champion Trojans (5-1) seem a good bet to face the Blue Devils in what should be the grudge match to end all grudge matches on the County Center hardwood in early March.
No. 3 Hamilton - Showed their worth/mettle in tough battle with Haldane very early on. Could be a huge factor down the road…
Sidenotes - Behind 19 points from Rob Percacciolo and a dozen more from Mike Impellittiere the Haldane boys nearly shocked Class D power Leake & Watts in a 61-52 loss. The Blue Devils (0-4) led by a point going into the fourth before a 23-13 L&W run…
Anybody else get the feeling that my NY Giants are in for another colossal collapse in the coming weeks? There's nothing worse than a paper tiger that crumbles up in the first round of the playoffs, except maybe an entire report like the Mitchell Report, which is more damning to MLB than Herbert Hoover's dam is to the Colorado River.
Please visit www.yourdirectrays.com to view Section 1 sports photo galleries.
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